February 7, 2008
Trotter Signs NHL Deal with Canadiens
CHN Staff Report
Denver's leading scorer, Brock Trotter, has signed a pro contract with the Montreal Canadiens.
The sophomore forward was sat out of the lineup for last weekend's two losses at Minnesota State, did not travel with the team, and has not practiced this week. But Denver coach George Gwozdecky had declined to make any formal statement about his status.
With speculation continuing to linger, Trotter, a 20-year old native of Brandon, Manitoba, signed a three-year entry level deal with the Canadiens and will report to their AHL affiliate in Hamilton, Ontario.
Choosing to put a nondescript spin on it, Gwozdecky said only this in a statement put out by the school Thursday night: "We're really happy for Brock and his opportunity with the Montreal Canadiens," Gwozdecky said. "Brock accomplished a lot in his three years with our program and we wish him continued success during his professional hockey career."
Trotter had 16 goals and 40 points in 40 games last season. In his first season, he played five games before getting injured and missing the rest of the season. He received a medical redshirt, which enabled to retain four years of eligibility.
Wow, that is a big loss for the Pioneers. I wish him good luck.
Feb 7 2008, 8:34 pm by Melvin, Grand Forks
Seems highly unlikely that there wasn't some kind of a disciplinary situation going on. The whole thing would pass a lot quicker if they would just be honest from the start. Now, it will linger until the truth finally comes out. It isn't always painless to be honest, but it would save the Denver folks more trouble in the longrun.
Feb 7 2008, 10:43 pm by Kevin, Minneapolis
It sucks to suck.....better luck next year pioneers , sucks you wont be competing for the ship on your hosting year
Feb 7 2008, 11:40 pm by Sioux yea yea (Belcourt ,ND)
Come on, that isn't necessary. It DOES suck for the Pioneers, and acting like you're 8 doesn't help.
Feb 8 2008, 10:30 am by Chris Haake, Grand Forks ND
As a Sioux fan and CC alum, I concur that it isn't a time to celebrate DU's (or Minnesota's for that matter) loss. I know how difficult it be if say CC lost Billy Sweatt or the Sioux lost a Lamoureaux. It sucks that the NHL can just come and pluck college players away from their teams mid-season. DU is still a very deep team with lot's of talent and an AWESOME goalie. While the loss of Trotter definitely hurts, the team will make the necessary adjustments.
Feb 8 2008, 10:34 am by Dan Maddock, Parker Colorado
chris haake your a ***** ass bitch and you shouldn't live in grand forks because your not a sioux fan.
Feb 8 2008, 10:36 am by yea sioux sioux, Fort Yates, ND
Okay, maybe you're not 8. You're 6, and you use a computer very well. Good for you! But does your mommy know you use such language on the internet?
Feb 8 2008, 10:54 am by Chris Haake, Grand Forks ND
It's all around bad for the league. Hopefully the NCAA can work something out with the NHL to make commitments a little more meaningful.
Feb 8 2008, 11:37 am by Mike, Minneapolis, MN
I agree Mike. It's bad for college hockey. The NHL (or the signed player) should reimburse the school for the scholarship or the remainder of it. I like the NHL, but there needs to be a line drawn here. 90% of the time they don't make it up for a year or two if at all anyway. The new CBA in the NHL is causing this issue.
Feb 8 2008, 1:14 pm by Joe, Mpls., MN
Wow! Chris, what's up with these children from the ranch and the reservation? Grow up a bit guys.
Feb 8 2008, 2:51 pm by Richfield, MN
Dan, I agree. They are a deep team. They will have some players that can move up and fill that void. I'll be watching the next Sioux game up at Engelstad and I'm certainly not notchig a win yet. Denver is dangerous always. I do think that a rule should be instituted against leaving mid-season. It seems like Kyle Okposo left the Gophers because they're having an off season. Well, an off season for the Gophers anyway. Lots of teams would be happy with that performance.
Feb 8 2008, 2:56 pm by Richfield, MN
seriously this is all a scam, my posts keep getting removed, but it was actually meth, the guys in meth treatment dont believe this bull**** guys
Feb 8 2008, 3:36 pm by Thomas L., Denver
So he got busted for doing meth? I can see why he wasn't going to be playing again. That's some serious stuff.
Feb 8 2008, 3:52 pm by Richfield, MN
Meth? Cmon, if he was in drug treatment wouldn't the team say he left for some other reason than signing w/Montreal? Maybe I'm wrong, but you would think so.
Feb 9 2008, 4:50 pm by Siouxfan_inDenver
Would an NHL club be so quick to sign a meth-head?
Feb 9 2008, 5:06 pm by Chris Haake, Grand Forks ND
Get off the meth thing, folks. There was none of that involved. The guy who keeps posting that, we've already banned once.
Feb 9 2008, 5:21 pm by CHN Editor
It's very easy to forget that these hockey players are student-athletes, with the primary emphasis on being a "student." As students, college athletes are entitled to privacy under FERPA guidelines. We can speculate all we want but the bottom line is this: Whatever the reason Trotter left DU, the school has to abide by the FERPA guidelines and not divulge the circumstances. That is why college coaches use the generic reason that a "Team Rule" was broken when a player is disciplined and don't go further. They are not permitted to do so. I hope this sheds some light on the situation and explains why universities are so vague when it comes to these students.
Feb 10 2008, 10:41 am by College Fan, Denver
FERPA only applies to academics, not extra-curricular activities. If he were suspended/expelled for academic reasons they could not release the particulars, but if he were suspended/expelled for things related to hockey they could. Usually, they choose not to for various reasons, but FERPA isn't one of them.
Feb 10 2008, 1:45 pm by Chris Haake, Grand Forks ND
FERPA regulates “educational” records which include student conduct as well as academics.
Feb 10 2008, 3:25 pm by College Fan, Denver
College Fan ... the issue here is not so much us wanting to know *what* the offense was. The article discusses how secretive Denver is that ANY offense even took place at all. Publicly, they are making it look like he left early on his own volition - when that's clearly not true. What the exact offense was is secondary. Gwozdecky won't even say a "team rule" was broken.
Feb 10 2008, 3:33 pm by CHN Editor
I think this goes back to my original point that these are first and foremost college students. I commend all of the coaches who protect the privacy of these young men and women. The student athletes are not paid for what they do so we don’t have any right or expectation to know anything about the player off of the ice. I don’t think the DU coach put any kind of spin on things. He just decided to respect his player’s privacy. We’ll just have to keep on wondering and leave it at that.
Feb 10 2008, 4:36 pm by College Fan, Denver
big conspiracy seriously, it was meth
Feb 11 2008, 5:51 pm by Thomas L., Denver
I hear it was aliens. Big conspiracy, seriously.
Feb 15 2008, 11:01 am by Chris Haake, Grand Forks ND
Habs inside/out site says you Americans have toomuch time on your hands, must be all the unemployment, or gay times you boys have. We took Trotter, and will steal you too if youdont shut up.
Apr 2 2008, 3:03 pm by The Teacher
Trotter and Torontos Tlusty were the two with meth amphetamines seen coming out of a Montreal Gay bar, with the rest of you posters on this site, as per Habs inside/out. Pictures of you boys doing the herky jerky are selling well.
Apr 2 2008, 3:06 pm by The Teacher
Comment on this Article
